Upon hearing this, everyone was visibly repulsed by the sight of the human skin. Even Xiao Muyu couldn’t hide her discomfort.
At that moment, a pale, slender hand reached over and casually picked up the roll of human skin, unrolling it and examining it closely.
She spread the skin out for everyone to see. Everyone except Xiao Muyu stepped back.
On the skin, a spell was written in cinnabar, with eerie and unsettling characters.
Xiao Muyu pondered, “Is this the thing that turned the human skin into living dead?”
The old woman nodded, her face showing a look of relief.
“At that time, I was in utter despair, wanting to kill them and end it all. But suddenly, someone appeared and gave this to me, saying that only with it could I make them truly suffer a fate worse than death.
“In return, I would remain here forever, with them, until I could leave. Now the time has come. Burn it, and they will be freed. And so will I.”
Xiao Muyu sensed something amiss. “Who gave it to you?”
The old woman glanced at her and then smiled. “He is my god, and the god of this world.” After that, she refused to say more. Xiao Muyu exchanged a look with Shen Qingqiu, then stared at the old woman for a long moment before nodding slightly.
They opened the door and stepped outside. Despite the thunderstorm last night, there had been no rain, and today the weather was exceptionally good. From the doorway, they could see the surrounding forest.
Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu walked a few steps forward. On the grass, traces of blood from the human skin’s injuries were still visible.
Shen Qingqiu chuckled, “It seems our adventure last night was unnecessary. Who would have thought you could persuade the old woman to willingly hand over such a thing, Miss Xiao?”
“So you guys fought the human skins last night to find out where they were hiding?” Cui Xiaoxuan was utterly impressed by the two.
“But now, it’s indeed unnecessary,” Xiao Muyu said, taking out the human skin roll as Xu Ran went to fetch a fire.
Thinking back on Xiao Muyu’s conversation with the old woman, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hold back her curiosity. She crossed her arms and tilted her head, looking at the reserved and delicate woman beside her.
Her features were gentle and soft, but unfortunately, her beautiful eyes were filled with indifference and coldness.
“Were you serious about what you said earlier? Do you think what she did was right?”
Xiao Muyu seemed momentarily surprised by the question, then fell silent. Finally, she looked down at the grass and said, “Right or wrong, what does it matter? When the law fails to deliver justice, personal revenge becomes justified, even noble.” She then gave a self-mocking smile.
“Of course, this is just a personal moral viewpoint. Ancient Roman law had a principle of retaliation in kind, but it was eventually abandoned.
“Sometimes, we need legal sanctions to break the cycle of vengeance and maintain societal stability.
“Besides, justice is such an elusive concept. Even if you receive justice, is it really what you wanted?”
“You seem to have a lot of personal experience with this,” Shen Qingqiu observed quietly.
Xiao Muyu’s expression grew distant. “Just a shallow insight.”
“But I believe, if it were you, you would do the same,” Shen Qingqiu said with a smile, adding, “I would too.”
Xiao Muyu finally looked directly at her. After a long moment, she glanced at the human skin in Shen Qingqiu’s hand. “That’s why I’m grateful for the rules and laws in our society. If individuals were to judge and execute punishment, human selfishness and anger would make revenge boundless.”
But here, legal principles and moral boundaries had all gone to hell.
When Shen Qingqiu threw the human skin roll into the fire, it suddenly twisted and screamed, causing everyone around to step back in fright.
At the same time, from the distant direction where the milky white liquid had flowed, a series of jubilant, demonic screams echoed, as if a chorus of demons were celebrating. The sound startled the birds in the mountains, making them flee in terror, as if the apocalypse had come.
When everything finally calmed down, Xu Ran suddenly shouted, “Fire, fire!”
Xiao Muyu and the others turned to see the house behind them engulfed in thick smoke and towering flames.
“The old woman is still inside…” Xu Ran exclaimed, then abruptly fell silent. He likely understood how the fire had started.
The seven of them stood silently outside, watching the lone house in the wilderness burn fiercely.
As they all watched the house, the system’s voice sounded.
“Main mission: The Old Woman in the Mountain;
Main mission: The Old Woman in the Mountain;
Task 1: Understand the old woman’s plight and help her overcome it. Completed! Task 2: Survive 72 hours. Completed!”
With this announcement, it felt like the lid of a box had finally been closed, though it was not yet a final conclusion.
The tasks were completed, but some still felt uneasy, as the final clearance standard wasn’t just about completing tasks.
After a few seconds of silence, Xiao Muyu finally heard the voice of the first judge, Judge 001.
“Players, I am Judge 001. First of all, congratulations on successfully completing the main tasks and surviving until now.
“There are 10 hours left until the 72-hour mark. Unless you seek trouble, surviving until then shouldn’t be an issue.”
This statement was true, but Xiao Muyu frowned, sensing an underlying malice in the judge’s words.
“Next is the moment you’ve all been waiting for—the score settlement! Please watch your control panels closely as we count down to see who will top the leaderboard this round and who will fail to meet the game’s passing conditions.”
The voice was sweet and cheerful, but it gripped the hearts of Xu Ran and Lao Liao tightly.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven…” Each count made those who knew they had low scores feel even more anxious.
When the countdown ended, except for Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, everyone stared intently at their scoreboards.
With a ding, everyone’s scores were finalized, and a leaderboard appeared before them. Unsurprisingly, Xiao Muyu was at the top with 125 points.
The others couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment.
“Is she even human?”
“The world of geniuses is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals.”
Second place was Shen Qingqiu with 100 points, which was expected but still hard to accept.
“She barely spoke, how did she get so many points?” Chen Xi gritted her teeth.
Xu Ran, having noticed the subtle undercurrents between Chen Xi and Shen Qingqiu, said seriously, “If Xiao Muyu knows something, then Shen Qingqiu likely knows it too. Besides, she may not have spoken much, but she was the most active.”
Everyone immediately recalled Shen Qingqiu’s almost supernatural combat skills and nodded in agreement. Without her decisively dealing with the human skins and subduing the old woman, none of this would have been possible.
Third place: Liu Wei, Chen Xi, both with 70 points;
Fifth place: Cui Xiaoxuan, with 67 points;
Sixth place: Xu Ran, with 64 points;
Seventh place: Lao Liao, with 58 points.
With the scores laid out, the rules for awarding points started to be revealed one by one. Each of the two tasks was worth 15 points. This meant that just by surviving, one could earn 30 points.
Chen Xi’s daring intrusion into the old woman’s room proved valuable, earning him an additional 15 points for critical evidence.
Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu’s high scores were largely due to each gaining 15 points for killing the human skin on You Qiaolian. Shen Qingqiu subdued the mad old woman alone, earning her 15 points. Finally, Xiao Muyu’s key step of convincing the old woman to hand over the human skin scroll netted her 20 points.
Xu Ran earned 10 points for retrieving the torch and burning the human skin; without these points, he would have failed the task.
Lao Liao looked ashen, as he had anticipated this outcome. After the side quest ended, both he and Baozi had the lowest scores, which was why Chen Xi persuaded Baozi to take a risk with him. If he didn’t take the gamble, even completing the tasks might not have allowed him to pass, while Baozi paid a heavy price for it.
Without taking the risk, Lao Liao couldn’t gain any extra points. His participation in the auxiliary processes only earned him 5 points, which wasn’t enough to reach 60.
Even Chen Xi, usually sarcastic, looked somber. The group fell silent, realizing this wasn’t just a game but a matter of life and death for Lao Liao.
Lao Liao took a deep breath, his expression a mix of bitterness and acceptance. “I was prepared for this. I’m over fifty, so if I have to take that road, it’s not that hard to accept. I don’t have the talent or ability to survive here. If it weren’t for wanting to see my son again, I wouldn’t have come here.
“This time, I mostly followed you all through it. I apologize for not being able to help much. Miss Xiao, Miss Shen, thank you for bringing me this far.”
Shen Qingqiu looked at him briefly, nodding slightly without her usual cold demeanor.
“You didn’t self-destruct, so no need to thank us.”
“Since the human skins no longer exist, does failing the task still mean becoming one of them?” Xiao Muyu asked.
Judge 001 replied, “Here, no. But there are other places.”
This revealed some information. Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu exchanged a look and then glanced away.
“He’s only 2 points short. Can’t there be some leeway?” Cui Xiaoxuan asked, feeling pity.
“Yes, just a little bit short.”
“Do not try to change the rules, and do not try to persuade the judge, or you will all be punished together.”
Judge 001’s sweet voice turned cold, indicating there would be no leniency.
At that moment, a girl in a white dress suddenly appeared before them. She was as sweet and cute as her voice, with large, expressive eyes. She smiled at them. “Congratulations to the six of you for successfully completing the 001 sub-game, Human Skin Manor. When the time comes, you’ll know where to go and what to do. This person, I’m taking with me.”
She pointed at Lao Liao, tilting her head with a smile. Xiao Muyu pursed her lips tightly, sensing the cruelty behind the girl’s innocent smile as she pointed at Lao Liao.
Lao Liao, although prepared, felt his breath catch when 001 pointed at him. A massive pressure squeezed his body, causing excruciating pain in his organs. Looking down, he saw his fingers turning into paper-like thinness, swaying in the wind. He could barely stand, and the overwhelming fear made his heart feel like it would explode.
The others turned pale as they witnessed Lao Liao being compressed into a thin paper-like form, his terrified expression frozen on it. The girl casually rolled him up and disappeared with him.
No one had expected such a brutal and cruel method of removal. Xu Ran was white as a sheet, and Liu Wei and Cui Xiaoxuan were speechless, their initial relief overshadowed by a heavy gloom.
After a long silence, Chen Xi finally spoke, his eyes red with anger as he looked at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu. “You two really are different, aren’t you? Cold-blooded from start to finish, never changing expression. Impressive.”
Shen Qingqiu ignored him, while Xiao Muyu remained unfazed.
Chen Xi felt like he was punching a pillow, his teeth grinding. “You played it well this time, but don’t forget, no one knows how this game will end. His fate will be yours too, one day. As long as we’re alive, there’s no rest.”
Regardless of the truth of Chen Xi’s words, the last phrase weighed heavily on everyone: “As long as we’re alive, there’s no rest.”
“You’re right, as long as we’re alive, there’s no rest. So, Chen Xi, don’t target me or Xiao Muyu. Understand that using others as scapegoats will happen again. I hope we continue to be as lucky, and you remain the one pushing others.”
Her calm words were a dagger to Chen Xi, leaving him pale. He focused his hatred on Shen Qingqiu, hoping it would help him forget how Chen Dong died.
“Time’s almost up. Take care, everyone.” With that, Shen Qingqiu stood and walked alone towards the dense forest to the west.
The group was puzzled but remained silent.
As she passed Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu paused, winking playfully. “Looking forward to seeing you in the next game, Miss Xiao.”
Xiao Muyu maintained her serious expression, as if she hadn’t heard Shen Qingqiu’s parting words. Even though their collaboration had been seamless, she had a strong instinctive feeling that she didn’t want to see Shen Qingqiu again.
As the remaining group members realized that their time was nearly up, they began to say their farewells. Surviving 72 hours together in this twisted game might be just a blink in the real world, but here it felt like an eternity. The bonds formed, though not always pleasant, were significant and deserved proper goodbyes.
“Take care, Miss Xiao,” Cui Xiaoxuan and the others said earnestly.
Xiao Muyu nodded in response, “Take care.”
She then left, not fond of the sentimental atmosphere. To her, this wasn’t an ending but merely the start of the next challenge. The people she had shared this ordeal with might genuinely be grateful or wish her well, but not everyone she had encountered was someone she wished to meet again.
